After Effects: 2D-3D

In this Tutorial we looked at how we make a 2D illustration into a 3D. Firstly we had to import a file called “city” which was a coloured drawing saved as a psd file; we had to include all its Photoshop layers. Once it was on the created composition I was then instructed to “switch on” 3D and create a new camera layer which was set at 35mm.

With the cloud and sky layers selected I was instructed to pre-compose them (merge) calling the layer “sky”. With the position menu dropped we could then edit the “z” axis changing the value and scaling the layer to the size of the composition. This was repeated for all layers. I created a mask in order for it to run smoothly and generally look neater; due to these changes the image will move giving a sense of false perspective.

In order to see if the animation was working successfully or not, you could click the top in the active camera menu and look at in in two views. I was then instructed to pre-compose this and name it “camera”. Then we added another camera layer, linking it to the previous using the “collapse transforms” button. I was then explained to how this could be animated, using the stopwatch and key frames. This was done so that the false perspective could be seen as an animation. After adjusting the levels layer improving the contrast and adding a ellipse, I was instructed to render the composition.

I found this tutorial quite complicated and it took longer than I had expected, however I have a general understanding how what I did and what I could take from this. Below shows screenshots of different stages in the tutorial.